Part 15: Baticul
Last time, we finally pulled up to the port of Baticul. Finally after ten updates, we've made it to our destination: right back where we started at the beginning of the game.
: “Congratulations on your safe return.”
: “Yeah.”: “A carrier pigeon arrived with a message from Count Almandine. He said you were traveling with an emissary of peace from the Malkuth Empire.”
: “I am Ion, Fon Master of the Order of Lorelei. I bear a letter from His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Peony the Ninth of the Malkuth Empire. May I ask an audience with His Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth?”: “Of course. General Cecille here will be responsible for escorting you to the castle.”
: “Brigadier General Cecille, at your service.”
: “Is something wrong?”
: “N-no, excuse me. I'm Guy. A servant of Luke's.”
: “Locrian Sergeant Tear Grants, 1st Platoon, Oracle Knights Intelligence Division.”
: “Ionian Sergeant Anise Tatlin, Oracle Knights Fon Master Guardian.”
: “Colonel Jade Curtiss, commander of the Third Division, Malkuth Imperial Forces. I represent His Imperial Majesty.”
It seems Jade gets this reaction a lot.
: “You're THE Jade Curtiss...?!”: “You taught me a painful lesson in our battle in northern Chesedonia, General Cecille.”: “You must be joking. My forces were virtually wiped out...”: “You're well known as the Emperor's personal confidant, Colonel. If you're here, Malkuth must indeed be serious.”
: “Tensions along the border are greater now than at the start of the Hod War. We have no choice but to be serious.”
Hmm?
: “Correct. Well then, Luke, my Baticul defense unit will escort you back to your home.”
: “Hold on! Ion asked me to speak to Uncle on his behalf. I'm taking him to the castle!”: “Thank you, Luke. I appreciate the support.”
: “I'm impressed, Luke. You truly understand your responsibility.”
: “Oh... uh.... yeah.”: “Understood. In that case, I shall send General Cecille to inform His Grace, Duke Fabre. If you would, General Cecille.”: “Yes, sir.”
Anybody else get the feeling this whole 'hero' thing is going to our protagonist's head a tad?
: “All right Luke, if you'd show us the way?”: “Right, let's go!”
Baticul port does a good job of capturing that grungy, dirty industrial port feeling. It sets a good tone for just how contrasting Baticul is from all those clean, nature loving rural environments we saw all around Malkuth.
Transport around Baticul is facilitated by way of cable cars and elevators. That would be because the entire city is actually built upwards.
The backstory is that Baticul was actually built in a giant crater created when a huge fonstone fell from the fonbelt. They built walls around the crater, then built the entire city upwards within it. Here's some concept art:
And here's a shot of it from the anime.
If you can't tell, I really like the design. It's the kind of thing you would get if you a sci-fi enthusiast and a steam-punk enthusiast to reimagine Minas Tirith, and they compromised. It has that smoky, industrial feeling of steam-punk while also appearing very advanced next to what we've seen so far.
: “What? You're acting like you've never seen it before.”: “I can't help it! I don't remember!”: “Oh... that's right. You've never been outside since you lost your memory.”
: “Wow, what a city! It goes straight up!”
: “You could fit two or three Cheagle Woods in here! Maybe more!”
: “This city was built on a depression in the ground created when a fonstone fell from the sky.”: “Meaning it's protected by natural walls. It's a logical design.”: Dammit, it doesn't feel like I've come home at all...
: “We'll expect a fat check for this one.”
: “This is going to be a big job, Noir.”: “What's up? You going thieving again?”
: “Oh, is that boy Fon Master Ion?”
: “What do you want, old lady?!”: “Quiet, little girl. Or are you a boy? It's hard to tell.”
: “What's up with them?! They're dressed like circus performers!”: “Now that you mention it, they do resemble that circus troupe, the 'Black Dream.' I only saw them once a long time ago, so I'm not certain but...”
: “What? You went to the circus without telling me?”: “Oh, sorry man...”: “I do wonder what they're up to. It sounded like they were scheming something.”
: “Yes, and they were interested in Ion. Fon Master, please be careful.”: “Right, I will.”
The big attraction on the lower level is the shopping center, which also leads to the colloseium. Unfortunately the colloseium isn't open yet, and pretty much all the shops are incredibly over-priced. There really isn't much shopping to be done here.
Skit: Impressions of Baticul
: *sigh*
: “Luke seems unhappy.”: “Even after getting back home, it's no different from anywhere else. Poor Luke...”: “Hey Luke. Let's wander the city for a bit.”: “Why? I just want to get home already.”: “We've come all this way. Might as well have a little more fun. Think of it as... sightseeing.”: “I don't really feel like-”: “Come on. After all, not everyone here has been to Baticul before.”: “Yes, that sounds good to me.”: “Sure, why not? I don't mind.”: “Me either!”: “I think that's a fine idea.”
: “There you have it, Luke. Shall we?”
: “All right, all right! Whatever!”
There isn't really much to see on the upper level, though you can just stroll on into this big conference room, which seems to be a military HQ. All the knights at the table just tell you to fuck off, though.
The top level is the palace, and once again we have a very Minas Tirith like vibe. Right up to and including a large courtyard flanked by two guards, centered around a lone object. Here's some more concept art for reference, since the game doesn't do a good job of framing the castle.
Much more impressive looking than the small section we get to see.
To the left is Luke's manor, but we have business with the King first.
Now having gushed about Baticul, let me say that I actually really don't like the interior of Baticul Castle. Half just because it's boring, and half because it has a very confusing layout.
: “Mohs is the guy trying to start the war, right? Let's get in there before he gives my uncle any weird ideas!”
: “Please, stop.”
: “I'm Luke, son of Duke Fabre! Get in my way, and I'll have them fire you!”
: “Luke, are you sure it's okay to force our way in like this...?”: “It'll be fine.”
: “With Engeve as their supply base, even Saint Binah has been-”
: “Shut up! Out of my way!”
: “Is that you, Luke...? Susanne's son?”: “That's right, Uncle.”: “Ahh! I heard what happened. I'm glad to see you back safely from Malkuth. Then the people beside you must be...”: “Fon Master Ion, of the Order of Lorelei, and Jade, form the Malkuth military.”: “It is an honor to see you again, Your Majesty. I am Ion.”: “Fon Master... W-we've been looking for you...”
: “Mohs, let us speak later.”: “Your Majesty, this is Colonel Jade Curtiss. He represents His Imperial Majesty, Peony the Ninth.”
: “I bear an imperial letter from my lord for His Glorious Majesty, King Ingobert the Sixth.”: “Uncle, what Mohs is saying is nonsense. I went and saw Malkuth with my own eyes. We didn't get close to the capital, but Engeve and Saint Binah were completely peaceful.”: “Wh-what did you say?! I'm merely trying to convey to His Majesty the threat that Malkuth...”: “Shut up! You're just trying to start a war! I don't even know you, and I'm sick of you already!”
: “Luke, calm down. The letter from Malkuth has made it here. I won't ignore it. You all must be tired from your long journey. Please, get some rest.”
: “We've prepared rooms in the castle for our emissary guests. Please, allow me to escort you.”: “If I may, I'd love to see Luke's manor.”: “Very well. When your business is finished outside, please return to the castle.”: “Tear, you stay here. I must hear your report regarding the matter I assigned you.”: “Grand Maestro, it is my responsibility to see that Luke makes it safely back to his manor. I will return with my report shortly.”: “...Very well. I bid you my leave, Your Majesty.”
You know he's evil because he's fat.
: “Luke, Susanne has fallen ill.”: “Mother's sick?!”: “I've sent Natalia to her side in my place. Please look after both of them for me.”Skit: The Letter
: “That Mohs... looks like he's trying to start a war after all. Telling lies to Uncle about Malkuth...”: “Well, in any case, the letter has changed hands safely. I'm certain that His Majesty won't ignore it.”: “I'll make sure to arrange a chance for you to talk with him further later.”
: “Well, well, Luke... I see your rank is indeed useful after all.”: “Do you always have to talk like that?”: “My apologies. I really do appreciate your help.”: “Hmph, you think you're so special.”Anyway, we got to rush to the manor! Luke's mother has fallen ill, we have to get to her side!
…Well, we have time for a teensy little sidequest first, right?
She'll be fine.
: “What the hell do you think you're doing?!”
: “I heard you talking at the port! You're Jade the Necromancer! I will avenge my brother!”: “If you were listening to us, then you should know these people have come as emissaries of peace!”: “...I know, but they couldn't even find my brother's body. The Necromancer took it and used it in undead experiments for the emperor.”
: “What's with that guy? What an idiot...”
: “...Luke, don't talk like that. What he did was wrong, but he does not deserve to be mocked for it.”: “Huh. If you say so. Anyway, Jade, there's something I've been wanting to know.”: “...What is it?”: “Your spear just suddenly comes out of nowhere. How does that work?”: “It's a fusion arte that utilizes the contamination effect.”: “The contami-what?”: “The contamination effect. It's an effect where the fonons and elements of matter seperate and refuse together.”: “Ah, like the fusion property of materials used in synthesis.”: “Yes. Not only are the fonons in living things and inorganic materials different, but so are the elements that comprise them. Utilizing that difference, I temporarily fuse my spear into the outer layer of my right arm.”: “And then you take it out when you need it, huh? That's convenient.”: “Don't say you want to try it Luke, normally the body rejects the effect and it can cause mental damage, even insanity.”: “Yeah. It takes an old man like this one to use it.”: “Yes. Over the course of mastering it, I've become an old man. Hah hah hah. Now, shall we be going?”
: “About those rumors that guy mentioned...”: “Yes, it's famous amongst the military. The story goes that he collects corpses on the battlefield in an effort to revive the dead.”
: “There's even a rumor that says the Malkuth Forces' Third Division is made up of the living dead. When I actually met them, it turned out it wasn't true, but.”: “...Reviving the dead, huh...”So once again, Abyss has an entire cutscene explaining something that, in any other Tales game, would have been explained with “it's magic, deal with it.” But that's why I love it.
We didn't really have to do this sidequest at exactly this moment: just before we left Baticul. Still, this sidequest in particular is very finicky and I wanted to nip it in the bud.But seriously, let's go check on Luke's mom.
: “I've heard the report from General Cecille. I'm glad you're safe. Thank you for your help, Guy.”: “...It is my honor, sir.”: “I see the emissaries are with you. You must be tired. Please, relax and make yourselves comfortable.”: “Thank you.”: “By the way, Luke: where is Dorian General Grants?”: “Master Van? We split up at Chesedonia. He said he'd come by boat later.”: “Duke Fabre... I'll head for the port immediately.”: “Yes. I'll leave the matter of Van to you. I'll go to the castle.”
: “...I apologize for the trouble I've caused.”: “You're Van's sister?”
: “Yes.”: “I've received a report that you intended to assassinate Van. Or were you in fact conspiring with him instead?”
: “Conspiring? I don't understand what you mean.”: “Well, I'll leave that alone for now. Let's go, General.”
: “I wonder what's up with Master Van...”
: “I think I should be going, too...”: “As long as you're here, you should probably apologize to the Lady as well. She probably fell ill because Luke was missing.”: “...You're right. I'll do that.”
: “Hey.”
: “Might I ask what that animal is?”: “It's a cheagle.”: “Ah, one of the sacred beasts of the Order of Lorelei.”: “I'm Mieu! Pleased to meet you!”: “It tal- *cough*! Erm... pleased to meet you... Mieu.”: “I got stuck with it. It's like a pet.”: “I see... I wonder how I shall prepare Mieu's meals...”
: “Ugh...”
: “What kind of attitude is that?! Do you realize how worried I was?!”: “Oh, well, you know... Luke's just embarrassed, Your Highness.”: “Guy! You have some explaining to do, too! I told you to come tell me before you went searching for Luke! Why did you leave without speaking to me?”
: “Why are you backing away?”: “You know why!”
: “Once I marry Luke, you'll be my servant too. Get used to it.”: “I can't!”
: “You're so strange. Look how pathetic you are. I don't know what the maids see in you...”
: “What's going on with Master Van?”: “Oh, my father didn't tell you? They suspect Van of being behind your disappearance.”: “So that's why he asked if I was 'conspiring' with Van...”: “Oh? Who's this...?”: “Luke! Don't tell me you've taken advantage of one of your servant girls!”
: “What?! There's no way I'd touch a chick as cold as that! Besides she's not a servant! She's Master Van's sister.”: “...Oh, you're the one who caused this commotion in the first place. 'Tear', was it?”: “Enough about that! Tell me what's gonna happen to Master Van!”: “Van will likely be arrested as soon as he arrives in Baticul. Worst case, I presume he'd be executed.”
: “Oh no! Ion! The Commandant is in danger!”: “Yes, we must issue a protest from Daath at once.”: “Natalia! Master Van wasn't involved! Please, talk to Uncle about it! You've got to save him!”
: “...All right. I can't turn down a request from you, Luke. In exchange, please hurry and remember that promise you made to me.”: “I told you, I don't remember proposing to you when I was a little kid!”
: “Yes, yes. Your memory loss. But how romantic would it be if the first thing you remember was your proposal to me?”
: “...Hurry up and go talk to Uncle about Master Van!”: “Honestly, you can be so mean. Fine.”So we've finally met Natalia and... well, she's a character all right.
Skit: The Upper Class
: “There goes Natalia again.”: “Some things never change, it seems.”: “She sure looked like a princess, didn't she? Pretty cloths, royal bearing, elegant speech... I guess that's the upper class for you. A little boisterous, too.”: “Well, you must be upper-class yourself then, Anise.”: “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!”: “Hah hah hah!”
: “I was certain you'd been kidnapped again!”: “I'm fine. Here I am, home again.”
: “I'm the one who involved your son. I tried to strike down my brother without thought to where I was.”: “...So you are Van's sister, Tear?”: “Yes.”: “...I see. You say that what happened this time was not the work of villains pursuing my son?”: “By Lorelei and Yulia, I swear it was not.”: “Thank you. And Tear, I don't know what's happened between you and Van, but please, never again think of striking down your brother. Family fighting family is entirely too sad.”: “I am grateful for your kind words.”: “Luke, you've come back to me. I'm fine now. Go let everyone see that you've returned.”: “...Oh, right...”Hmm... who else here has a name or face we care about? ...Oh, right!
: “I'm Jade. Excuse me for asking, but... have we met somewhere before?”
: “N-not that I recall...”: “I see...”: “By the way, Guy, you're not being a burden on everyone in battle, are you?”: “I wonder. It's a whole group of strong fighters.”: “Hmm.... if you have the opportunity, go visit the old man named Gee who lives in the Zao Desert to the east. If you tell him Pere sent you, he should be able to teach you something useful about the sword.”: “Okay.”Gee, I wonder if we'll ever get the chance to travel there...
: “Huh? She's not pretty, she's annoying. She whines about everything.”: “And besides, you're beautiful too, Tear.”: “Uh... thank you.”
: “No, it's all right. I'm sorry.”: “See, Guy, that's why girls fall all over you. The way you just come out and say stuff like that.”: “But all I did was say what came to mind...”I have no idea what the trigger for this scene is, I've had it pop up at completely different times each playthrough.
: “What are you hiding from me?”: “...While organizing the storehouse earlier, one of the maids accidentally threw out some items entrusted to use from Dorian General Grants.”: “...So what was it you'd gotten from Master Van?”: “Teaching materials intended for your education I believe they were texts pertaining to Albert-style arcane artes.”: “Arcane arte books?! You lost something like that?! Where did you throw them away?!”: “Actually, it seems they were sold to a traveling salesman. He said he was leaving by ship, so he may still be at the port..”: “Dammit, we're going after him!”: “Young master, here is 150,000 gald to buy back the texts.”: “I can't imagine it will require that kind of money. That's too much.”: “Tear! Ssh!”: “Oh, is that so? Then I'll reduce it.”Here's another sidequest, and it has some good stuff for us. Interestingly, this one does not have a cutoff: we could do this right before the game ends. Still I'll pick it up now, since again the rewards are great.
: “I'm of the House of Fabre. Return those books you just bought. I'll return your money!”
: “Of the four texts I received I already sold three of them. I'll be happy to sell you the remaining text for 20,000 Gald, if you'd like.”: “Dammit, that's highway robbery. Fine. Here.”Don't worry: Ramdas gave us exactly 20,000 so we're good.
A slower, heavier, more damaging version of demon fang that has a much shorter range. It's pretty meh.
The other three books will come to us in time. Hopefully.
Well then, let's wrap this u-... hey Pere, what are you doing here?
: “Master Luke!”
: “Were you looking at that sword?”: “Yes... this sword holds many memories for me...”: “Pere!”: “O-oh yes. My apologies.”: “Apologies? For what? And how come you suddenly shouted at him, Guy?”: “It's nothing. Don't worry about it.”: “Now you're just making me more curious!”: “Hmm... well, okay. If I lose the bet, I'll tell you.”: “Bet? What bet?”: “You forgot? Then it's a secret until the bet ends.”: “Tch.”Interesting...
Let's finally hit the hay.
: “The White Knights are having a fit that your search was left in the hands of a 'mere servant' like me. Time to go kiss up while I give my report.”: “It's time for us to go as well.”
: “Luke... please don't forget about me.”: “It was a fascinating experience. Thank you.”: “See you.”
: “Oh... okay...”: “You have a kind mother. Make sure you take good care of her.”: “Like you're in a position to be telling me that.”: “I suppose you're right... farewell.”: “Hey, wait.”: “...Yes?”: “...Don't worry about it too much. Mother fell ill because she was frail to begin with.”
Aww...
And so our journey comes to a close. You may remember that the day Luke was swept away was Rem-Decan 23. There are 58 days in a month in this game, so going by the in game calender Luke has been gone from home for 152 days. For the record, a day is still 24 hours, but a year is 765 days long. Still, it puts things in perspective a bit. Luke hasn't been gone for a week or two: he's been gone for, to us, close to half a year. That's a pretty long time.
At any rate, I think I'll leave it at that, for now. This was a very dialogue heavy update and my wrists are tired. Plus this is a good place to end off on so that I can do the same next time.
Next Time: A new quest! A new dungeon! A new party member! And perhaps a new foe?!
Synopsis
General Goldberg and General Cecille were waiting for us at the port. They
said they'd take me back to the manor and Ion and the others to the castle,
but then what about my chance to become a hero and get myself free? I told
them I'd take everybody to the castle myself.
It's not like there's anyone here in Baticul who can overrule me, so they
agreed to that, and now we're heading for the castle.
This is the first time I've actually been in Baticul since I lost my
memory... It doesn't even feel like home anymore. Oh, well. Right now we need
to head for the castle to see Uncle.
When we got to the audience room, someone was already there--Grand Maestro
Mohs, from the Order of Lorelei. I listened to him talk for a little bit, but
he really bugs me. He talks like he's so special, even though he's below Ion,
and all he was doing was spouting lies to try and worsen our relationship
with Malkuth. I guess he's the one behind all this war stuff... Master Van
wasn't doing anything. I bet Tear will change her tone about Mohs after this.
We gave the peace letter to Uncle, and then I heard that Mother's fallen
ill. She's always been pretty weak... Apparently my cousin Natalia is
visiting her, and everybody else wants to see the manor, so we're heading
there now.
We ran into Father when we entered the mansion. He was with General
Cecille, and he was cold to me, as always.
He seemed to be concerned about Master Van. Something worries me about
that...
When we reached the drawing room, Natalia was there, just back from seeing
Mother.
I haven't seen her in a while, but she was playing the proper lady as
always. When I think about the fact that I'm engaged to her, it really gets
me down. But Natalia told me something that startled me--apparently, my
disappearance is being blamed on Master Van kidnapping me, and he might even
be executed for it. No way! It's Tear's fault! I asked Natalia to talk to
Uncle about it, and she told me to remember how I proposed to her as a kid.
How am I supposed to remember that?
Anyway, Natalia went back to the castle to talk to Uncle. I hope Master
Van will be okay...
When I went to see Mother, she was really happy that I'd come home. I wish
Father was even half as nice.
Apparently Mother thought my disappearance was some kind of plot, but she
seemed relieved when Tear apologized for the incident.
Well, I've visited Mother, and I've seen Natalia... Might as well go get
some rest.
When I returned to my room, Ion, Jade and Anise all said they were going
back to the castle. Guy has some kind of report to make too, and even Tear
finally left. It's been a long time since I was alone. Finally I can get some
good rest in my own bed. Tomorrow I may be stuck in the manor, but for now
all I want is rest.